Lieutenant George
Lieutenant The Hon. George Colthurst St. Barleigh, MC (c. 1886 - 1917) is a young British Army Officer in a First World War trench, serving under Captain Blackadder and with Private Baldrick. Personality Lieutenant The Honourable George Colthurst St. Barleigh, MC is a frontline officer who joined the army on the first day of World War I, along with nine other students. As such, the group named themselves the Trinity College Tiddlywinks or the "Trinity Tiddlers". It is revealed later, in the fourth series' finale, that George is the only surviving member of the group. Although he lacks any kind of skill (with the exception of King & Country-worthy painting abilities), competence, or authority as an officer, his upper-class status and educational background meant he went straight into the commissioned ranks upon enlisting. An example is when he is unaware of what transpires if one steps on a landmine and asks Captain Blackadder what they should do, to which Blackadder responds that the normal procedure is to jump 200 feet into the air and scatter himself over a wide area. This shows his complete innocence towards what is going on around him, a feature that figures throughout the series. George is treated like a child by Captain Edmund Blackadder, who appears frustrated by him. However, he seems to be very good friends with Private Baldrick, who stated that he'd come and visit George when the war was over. Despite Blackadder's constant insulting of him and his family, George appears to like Blackadder and Baldrick very much, stating "We've had some good laughs together" and "I'll miss you chaps when the war is over". He also goes to extreme lengths to convince his superiors to rescue Blackadder, when he is captured behind enemy lines and when this fails takes on the job himself. It appears the feeling is somewhat mutual: Blackadder almost always includes George in his plans to avoid going over the top in spite of the fact George looks forward to it. Although Blackadder's first concern is his own life, a lot of his escape plans include protecting George's life, even though it isn't necessary to his schemes, such as the end of "Captain Cook" and "Major Star". George's absolute hero is Lord Flashheart, and he collects aeroplane cards, complete with a presentation booklet, as depicted in the episode Private Plane. George is shown to have a special friendship with General Melchett, an old family friend with whom he shares his public school "tally-ho" attitude towards the war. Melchett even offers George a way out of the trenches for the "final push", which he refuses, much to Blackadder's incredulity. George nearly marries General Melchett as 'Gorgeous Georgina', when he was in character as a drag queen, as Melchett thought he was a real woman. Nevertheless, he is arguably the most sympathetic character in the series. He is unconditionally kind, caring and loving. Possessed of a warm, gentle, cheerful, selflessly compassionate nature, which, in combination with his almost fearless stupidity, adds up to a truly tragic heroism with the coming of the final push at the end of the final episode. In contrast to Blackadder's cowardly cleverness his blind, idiotic confidence, patriotism, and courage are apparent throughout the series; however, at the end, his end may be the most painful of the group. Category:Characters Category:Blackadder Goes Forth characters Category:George Family Category:Twenty Minuters Category:Characters played by Hugh Laurie Category:British Category:Male Category:Rank Lieutenant